Sirmakko Reindeer Farm and Kota Restaurant will be open in the beginning of 2019. Their Reindeer sleigh ride is awesome.

“City pollution and mass tourism cannot enter this peace and silence”

Sirmakko is an old Finnish word meaning a lively and vivid reindeer calf, who, due to its exceptionally graceful looks, stands out from the crowd. The same characteristics can also be used to define one very special Lapland-based company located in the village of Perunkajärvi, about 30 minute drive from the Arctic Circle. Sirmakko is a company run by a long-standing entrepreneur couple, Hanna and Sami Ruismäki, who have successfully served the tourists in Lapland region for the past 16 years.

– Sirmakko is a family business born in 2002. Reindeer herding and ethically produced reindeer dishes have always been at the very core of our business. Reindeer herding runs in the family and we are reindeer herders in sixth generation, Hanna Ruismäki says.

Home-like reindeer farm and Sirmakko kota -restaurant

Sirmakko, which operated for long at the Arctic Circle, has become a well-known brand not only in Finland and Lapland, but also internationally. This family-owned company has a high reputation among locals and tourists alike. Now they also have something new in store: Sirmakko starts afresh in January 2019. Before that, throughout the busiest Christmas season they are “under a constant hustle and bustle”.

What on Earth are the Sirmakko elves doing?

– Well, we will open a brand-new Sirmakko kota -restaurant and reindeer farm at our home in Perunkajärvi. From then on the focus of our business is only in our own reindeer farm. There the peace and silence are so absolute that no mass tourism or city lights can destroy it. Forest, reindeer and nature are everything to us, Hanna and Sami address.

For Ruismäki couple, mass tourism is one of those “been there, done that” -things that they no longer wish to experience. They know that many tourists have also gotten enough of the busy tourist centers and have started to seek for more authentic experiences of Lapland. That is exactly something that Sirmakko kota -restaurant and the reindeer farm, located by the virginal, beautiful and fishy Perunkajärvi can offer.

– There are not many reindeer farms like this around Rovaniemi. In our farm everything is authentic and the stories we share are based on our own experiences as reindeer herders. Nothing needs to be invented or built for the guests specifically, because everything is already in place. We have received plenty of feedback saying that this is exactly what has been needed in Rovaniemi area, Hanna mentions.

No rush

Although the new Sirmakko reindeer farm and kota -restaurant are to be found deep in the wilderness, they are still only a 30-minute drive away from Rovaniemi, the capital of Finnish Lapland. Also, the travelers do not need to worry. The main customers of Sirmakko are travel agencies and tour organizers, who ensure that the guests need to do nothing, but bring themselves to the destination – everything else is taken care of and the experience is always customized individually to the customers’ wishes and needs.

At the destination Sirmakko, the guests are welcomed by an omnipresent peace and silence of the arctic nature milieu, the reindeer, warm sauna, hole in the ice, fireplace, loads of locally prepared delicacies and drinks, sky full of stars and, if the weather allows, even the northern lights –not to mention the lively and vivid, professional staff who take care that each guest is being served with patience, care and time.

– Peace and peacefulness is the key. Our full-day program enables the guests to savor the reindeer farm -experience in peace without a fixed schedule according to their own interests. One can sit by the fire and savor hot drinks while others go sliding or for a reindeer safari for example. We want our guests to have good time without any stress or rush, Hanna and Sami Ruismäki emphasize.